2023 Mr. Owasso pageant
By Lizzy Petersen
Collage of Mr. Owasso talent acts taken by Lizzy Petersen
The Mr. Owasso pageant is an annual event that many in the school and community look forward to every year. Senior boys compete in a traditional pageant (an Owasso Varsity Pom fundraiser) for the title of Mr. Owasso in front of peers, community members and a panel of judges from the community.
This year’s contestants had a whole lot of talent and entertainment to bring to the show. The initial group number, choreographed by senior pom members, set the tone for the exciting night. The boys then introduced themselves to the audience with their more specific names, such as Mr. Foreign Exchange being Magnus Kragelund.
The next portion of the evening was the talent part. Contestants came out as solo acts or with other competitors to show off unique performances of what they can do. One act in particular that really had the audience’s attention was Mr. Prince (Caleb Martin); he dressed to impress with his green leotard under an egg costume, and he came out and rapped the children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham.”
Mr. Soccer (Eli Williams) wowed the audience with his incredible performance of hypnotism. Williams brought up two audience members to be hypnotized and perform not only embarrassing but impressive acts. His first subject believed he was a dog, barked at the audience and even ate treats out of Williams’ hand. His second subject was convinced he could do karate and then broke multiple wooden boards with his hands by kicking them.
Mr. Jazz (James Burkhalter) gave the audience chills by singing “Feeling Good.” His performance may have been short and sweet, but it perfectly showed his incredible voice to the audience.
The last part of the pageant was the formal wear and interview questions. One answer that stuck out was Isaac Krueger’s answer to what superpower he would love to have, which was super speed. This is a very fitting answer for Krueger because he is Mr. Cross Country, after all.
The scores had finally been calculated and anticipation was high to see who would be crowned our Mr. Owasso of 2023. First, the smaller awards were presented. Mr. FCA (Gage Nantois) was crowned “best smile.” Mr. Uno (J’Kharri Thomas) was crowned best evening wear, which was a given since his bowtie sparkled brighter than the sun under those stage lights. Mr. Lax (Trae Hall) was given the award of best swimwear. The best talent award was given to Mr. Golf (Evan Fry); he surprised the audience by playing the piano. The votes were counted from the audience to see who the fan favorite was, and Mr. Theater (Gabriel Cornwell) won. Second place was given to Mr. Student Section (Joey Perkins), who was rather committed to portraying his role of Ken throughout the evening.
Finally, our winner was crowned: Mr. Chick-fil-A (Cole Baker) won the pageant and title Mr. Owasso. The evening will be a night to remember for these young men. They will be able to tell these silly and entertaining stories to their friends and family for years to come.